Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Movie Review

  

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Synopsis: The origin story of renegade warrior Furiosa before she met Mad Max and became the Imperator.

Director: George Miller

Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke & Lachy Hulme

Runtime: 2 hours 28 mins

Genre: Sci-Fi Action Adventure

Mad Max: Fury Road which is considered by many fans and leading filmmakers to be a masterpiece in action cinema, made over $380 Million at the worldwide box office. It holds a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Furiosa which opened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this month, started as a screenplay called well, Furiosa. It was written by Miller to simply serve as a backstory to the Furiosa character for Fury Road. It was so fully formed that Charlize Theron (Who played the role in the movie) said "Please George, can we make this one first?". 

However Miller decided to stick to his guns and make Fury Road, and the rest as they say is history.

This movie, (which spans 16 years and has been described as an 'odyssey' by Miller) serves as his biggest swing yet for the franchise, no Mad Max and a recast Furiosa. So does it pay off?

Let's break it down..

Story and Plot

Young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers by Dementus (Hemsworth) and his huge biker horde. Making her way across the Wasteland, as part of Dementus's crew they run into Immortan Joe at the Citadel. Soon, Furiosa finds herself in a non-stop battle to make her way home whilst serving justice on those who have captured her.

My overall thoughts...

Firstly, if you are going in expecting Fury Road you will be disappointed. This movie is more of a slow burn compared to it's predecessor. But is this movie boring? Hell to the no!

Furiosa is a high-octane fuel drenched primal slice of cinema that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible with the best sound system (more on that later). I thoroughly enjoyed this exhilarating movie. If revenge flicks are your thing, you will love this. I was locked into Furiosa from the first frame. 

The movie is split into five titled chapters with child actor Alyla Browne playing a young Furiosa. I'd say it's nearly a 50/50 split with her and Taylor-Joy for screen time.

Chris Hemsworth is fantastic as the movie's bad boy Dementus and clearly relished the opportunity to get his teeth into a meaty villainous role. 

The movie looks incredible and the cinematography courtesy of DP Simon Duggan is beautifully shot. The set-pieces are edge-of-your-seat stuff which nicely propel the story along.

Furiosa is not only a great movie in it's own right, it deepens the love for Fury Road (Which you get to see extended scenes from over the end credits). With two movies in the bag (Not counting the original 80's movies), Dr George Miller is now starting work on a possible third instalment called The Wasteland.   

Cast

Whilst Miller was open to using Theron again in the titular role, he was less keen on using de-aging technology, so was forced to look for an actress who could play the role a good 15-20 years younger. Enter stage left... Anya Taylor-Joy. The 28 year old actress born in Miami, Florida and classically trained in ballet (Like Theron) is perfectly cast to take over the role. Whilst it's fair to say she equally shares screentime with Browne, her Furiosa is a lady of few words, her action's speak volumes. She is a tour-de-force in this movie. 

Taylor-Joy is one of those actors who fully commit to a role (she learnt to drive on the set of this movie). Having to endure four-and-a-half-hour sessions in make up to become Furiosa, she stopped short of shaving her head. Although fully prepared to, George Miller loved her hair so much he made her wear a skull cap instead. 

Chris Hemsworth whilst at first blush looks fairly similar to Thor that's where the similarities end. His character Dementus is the twisted personification of evil. A f****d up father figure to Furiosa. He spent four-hours a day in make-up to get him look less, well, like Chris Hemsworth. 

It has often been said that "a movie is only ever good as it's villain", therefore I am happy to say Hemsworth is fantastic as Dementus. He arguably steals the movie and has the most to say than any other character and could have very easily slipped into a cheesy portrayal of this mad man. But he manages to deftly toe the line, between equally funny and unhinged at the same time.

Acting duties for Fury Road's villain Immortan Joe fell to Lachy Hulme after Keays-Byrne passed away in 2020. He is excellent as the younger Immortan Joe. 

As touched on before 15 year old Alyla Browne as child Furiosa is superb and is definitely an actor to keep an eye on in the future.

Rounding out the main cast is Tom Burke as Praetorian Jack, one of Immortan Joe's men. He is the nearest thing to Mad Max in the movie. He is very good. 

Sound and Spectacle

There is more spectacle than sand in this movie. Miller was keen to work with the same crew as Fury Road in employing as many practical effects as possible, this entry feels like a seamless continuation to Fury Road. There are elements of VFX and some CGI, but it is very well done.

The movie was shot on location in Australia (Home to all Mad Max movies with the exception of Fury Road - owing to flooding). 

The sound design in this movie is incredible. I urge you to see it on a cinema screen that has the best sound system possible. The cinema I saw it in shook with the cacophony of engines only to drop to a deadly silence in the same heartbeat. 

On screen Action

When a movie features amongst other things 4,000 custom made motorbikes, you could say this movie has some on-screen action. The movie features a huge array of incredibly impressive heart pounding set-pieces. Whilst Fury Road was essentially one long chase movie and therefore in essence a movie length set-piece, the action in Furiosa is more interwoven into the larger narrative. 

One sequence in the movie which became known as "Stairway to Nowhere" in production took 78 days to film a 15 minute on-screen sequence. This set piece is also a turning point in the movie. 

Music and Score

Tom Holkenborg returns after Fury Road to compose this movie. The thunderous pulsating score helps heighten the tension throughout the movie.

A satisfying fuel-drenched slice of action cinema. If you go in thinking Fury Road 2 you'll be in for a shock, however it is a great revenge story with heart-pounding action & incredible sound. Taylor-Joy is a joy as Furiosa and Hemsworth's Dementus is truly demented.  A revenge flick for the ages. Oh what a day! What a lovely day!

Verdict  - MATCHED EXPECTATIONS

Atlas Movie Review

  

Atlas

Synopsis: A bleak sounding future where an AI soldier is determined to end humanity.

Director: Brad Peyton
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown & Mark Strong
Runtime: 1 hour 58 mins
Genre: Sci Fi Action Adventure
 
Atlas is the third picture in the multi-project production deal between Lopez's Nuyorican Productions and Netflix. Directed by Brad Peyton (Rampage, San Andreas) this movie serves as the first foray into sci-fi for the 54-year old singer, actress and dancer. 

As for the movie, it's been five years in the making, so did it pay off? Let's break it down..
 
Story and Plot

Atlas Shepherd (Lopez) is a brilliant agent with a deep distrust of A.I. After crash landing whilst on a mission to track down Harlan Shepherd (Liu) a rogue robot, she has to trust the friendly AI in her mech-suit called an "ark" in order to survive and complete her mission.
 
My overall thoughts...

Atlas which the director himself has called "Cast Away in space" is about as far away from the classic Robert Zemeckis 2000 movie as you can get. In concept perhaps, but certainly not in execution. 

Atlas (which I nearly stopped watching several times) is a truly awful movie.

There is a kernel of a good idea somewhere, but what we get is a piss poor video game of a movie with phoned in performances, terrible VFX (Some of the CGI is okay), predictable story with a clunky script. This movie is all about A.I and it feels like it was written by A.I as well.
I didn't buy the story, the world and the characters, nothing felt real and it left me unengaged on many levels. 

My expectations were low and they were met. 
 
Cast

Whilst Lopez needn't trouble herself with writing an Oscars acceptance speech, she has always been a very committed performer. Whether that be dancing, singing or even acting. Sorry to say but Lopez's roles in the last five years have been nothing but vanity projects. 
Whilst I enjoyed her in Hustlers, recent years have seen such duds and misfires as Marry Me, Shotgun Wedding and The Mother. For me Lopez is primarily a dancer who can sing and likes to act, she is not an actor who happens to be able to dance and sing. 

In Atlas, Lopez reportedly spent eight weeks in a huge gimble on a empty soundstage and turns out her performance was as empty as that soundstage. She was really bad. It may have been the turgid script by Leo Sardarian & Aron Eli Coleite but it just felt like she was playing dress up. Another vanity project allowing her to tick off sci-fi as another genre. I didn't buy her in the role at all.

Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as Harlan Shepherd play's a poor mans T-1000 from T2. I found I was thinking of Rick Yune's character in the equally forgettable last entry for Pierce Brosnan's 007 in Die Another Day. Liu's once promising career seems to be hitting the skids and this movie will do nothing to help him.

The rest of the cast is fleshed out by the ever dependable Sterling K. Brown (No mess operative in command of the mech's) and Mark Strong (An understanding military general) but their considerable talent is squandered in roles that amount to nothing more than glorified cameos as they try to add some gravitas to the proceedings. 
 
Sound and Spectacle

Atlas is a straight up video game. The planet Atlas travels too is literally JLO inserted into the popular video game title Titanfall. As Slant Magazine put it "Atlas feels best experienced with a controller in hand."

 
Pandora in Avatar, Arrakis in Dune, these are living breathing alien worlds. Okay so I know the budget on this movie would have been a lot less than those giants but the original Star Wars movies had Dagobah, Hoth, Bespin and Tatooine to name but a few planets and those movies were made on a fraction of the budget of this one but their worlds felt real.

I read that this movie was shot on location in New Zealand, but personally I found the movie's planet (GR-39) to be a wholly CGI created world that felt as believable as the rest of the movie.

The poor VFX also took me out the movie (which as I was not enjoying it, can be counted as a good thing?) Obvious use of green screen (With characters talking in the foreground to mechs walking around in clearly CGI created interior shots in the background). Even more egregious was the future-fying of Los Angeles with what was clearly 2nd unit photography of present day LA with CGI tacked on to make it resemble some Blade Runner-esque futuristic landscape. 
 
On screen Action

As with any bad movie if the story and character's are not there, action is just noise, and there is a lot of "noise" in this movie. Generic space battles, and a mech battling it out on an alien planet fighting A.I (If you're tired of reading this, believe me I'm tired of typing it). There is nothing you haven't seen before.

 

Music and Score

Andrew Lockington provides the score which is there but I was so unbelievably bored by the movie the music didn't even register.   

 

It's another miss for Netflix & vanity project for Lopez. A piss poor video game of a movie with not an ounce of originality. More Throw Away than Cast Away.

Verdict  - One to Miss

 

The Garfield Movie - Movie Review

  

The Garfield Movie

Synopsis: Garfield is re-united with his long last father and with Odie his best friend, goes on a heist.

Director: Mark Dindal

Stars: Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Ving Rhames, Harvey Guillen & Hannah Waddingham

Runtime: 1 hour 41 mins

Genre: Animation, action adventure comedy

When I was growing up I loved Garfield. I remember back in the day I kept a Garfield themed diary, I loved the Garfield and Friends cartoon on TV, I read his comic strips, and even had posters of him, Odie and Jon in my bedroom.

However, like so many things in life I grew up and moved on. It's been 20 years since Garfield has appeared on the big screen. Back in 2004 audiences were subjected to the truly awful Garfield: The Movie a pseudo live action/CGI atrocity with Bill Murray providing the voice of Garfield.

So is this latest animated adventure of the famously fat tabby cat worth watching?

Let's break it down..

Story and Plot

Garfield (Pratt) is loving life at home with Jon (Hoult) and his best friend Odie (Guillen), but after an unexpected reunion with his long-lost father Vic (Jackson), the lasagne loving cat with his canine companion is drawn into a high-stakes heist.

My overall thoughts...

Every now and again there are movies you go into with literally no expectations. Garfield was one such movie, and I'm happy to report I was very pleasantly surprised, Garfield is a delightfully charming family action comedy. Serving as an origin story, the movie nicely weaves in Garfield's beginnings within the heist that involves his father. A plot to steal milk from a local farmyard theme park. 

Garfield regularly breaks the 4th wall and drops meta references throughout, wish I found refreshing. It is faithfully rendered in the style of the original 80's comic strip whilst feeling very much a contemporary story with Garfield able to satiate his endless appetite with his favourite food app on his mobile phone. 

Also, where IF fell down recently in not having enough for young and older audiences a like, Garfield cleverly bridges the gap between generations, providing enough cartoonish slapstick for the younger viewers, whilst at the same time keeping older audiences entertained with references only adults will get, Tom Cruise movies I'm looking at you. 

Cast

Chris Pratt is no stranger to voice-over work. Most recently providing the voice of Mario (for some controversially) in last year's uber hit The Super Mario Bros. He has also lent his voice to The Lego Movie franchise and Onward. I thought I would be annoyed with Pratt in this role, but found him perfectly matched to Garfield. I found I was watching a performance, not hearing a voice. 

Samuel L. Jackson is one cool cat as Vic, Garfield's long-lost dad. He may have been absent in Garfield's life but his heart was always in the right place. Nicholas Hoult as Jon doesn't have a huge amount to do, but his character is funny all the same. Harvey Guillen provides the noises for Odie, and his character is especially endearing. Brave, imaginative, clever and always there for his feline friend.

Hannah Waddingham suitably chews the scenery as Jinx a fluffy white Persian cat who serves as movie's whisker twirling British villain. For me (Other than Garfield) the standout though was Ving Rhames as Otto a large shaggy haired bull. His role is a delightful meta riff on his character Luther in the Mission Impossible movies. There is one very funny set piece that is literally ripped from that franchise, it even has the iconic music! Also whilst on the subject of Tom Cruise movies, keep your eyes and ears peeled for another reference to a famous flying movie towards the end. 

Sound and Spectacle

Garfield features lush fluid animation that is faithful to the original comic strip. The colours pop off the screen and it is very well shot. It is gorgeous to look at. 

The sound is also great and goes a long way to support the animation. 

On screen Action

I like how director Dindal and team thought outside the box for the set-pieces which are imaginative and original. As I cared about Garfield and friends each set-piece felt earned not just there to entertain the younger crowd. The movie as well does not talk down to the audience and this is seen in its set-pieces. They could have dolled out any old cheap slapstick crap but they didn't and I really appreciated it. 

Music and Score

John Debney who I will next year the works of with Kevin Costner's epic western Horizon: An American Saga, provides the score for this feline adventure. I enjoyed his score for this movie. 

 

A delightfully charming family action comedy. An origin story faithful to the original comic strip whilst feeling suitably meta and modern. Definitely recommended for young and old a like. Garfield has landed on his feet and he didn't even use one of his nine lives. 

Verdict  - Unexpected Surprise 

IF Movie Review

  

IF

Synopsis: Bea (Fleming) who after going through a difficult experience begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real life friends have grown up.

Director: John Krasinski

Stars: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski and voice of Steve Carrell

Runtime: 1 hour 44 mins

Genre: Family Comedy Drama

"From the imagination of John Krasinski" it says in the trailer. What it doesn't say is that the 44 year old hailing from Boston, MA (Best known as Jim in The Office) came up with the idea for film during the deepest, darkest days of lockdown. During the lockdown he did an endearing YouTube video series called Some Good News which reported on nothing but good news. Krasinski picked up on the vibe of those videos and wondered if he could make a feature film that felt like it was giving you a huge hug.

And so, we've got IF. Let's break it down..

Story and Plot

Bea (Cailey Fleming) is having a hard time at home after a family tragedy which gives her the ability to see the world filled with eccentric & quirky IF's or Imaginary Friends (to give the movie it's full title). Once adored by their respective human friends these IF's have been abandoned as their companions have outgrown them. 

Sharing her ability is neighbour Cal (Reynolds) who is reluctantly drawn in on the action along with a rather large IF called Blue (V.O Carrell) (who is actually purple, his name comes from the fact his human friend is colour blind so as a child called him Blue).

My overall thoughts...

Every now and again you see a movie that you're waiting for it to start, but it never really does, unfortunately IF is one of those movies. I really liked the trailer and so wanted to like this one, but as it turns out this movie was a disappointment. 

This movie is rated U by the BBFC but unfortunately it falls through the crack of not having enough sweet slapstick for little ones and not enough really going on for the adults.

Don't get me wrong, it's a really sweet movie with a lovely message but I found it, well, boring to be candidly frank and also a little strange in parts. The movie is also not that funny with majority of the jokes and gags landing flat. (The best of which are in the various trailers). Despite Fleming's very strong central performance I also just wasn't emotionally invested in what was going on.

From the first few scenes (which is reminiscent of the start to Pixar's Up) you get Bea's story, but then the movie’s forward momentum seems to grind to a halt in a sense and develops real pacing issues where it seems to lack any direction and feels very unstructured as a result. There is also another side story concerning Bea's Dad's health that kept detracting me from the main story. 

Cast

Cailey Fleming is the best thing in this movie, the 17 year old (who plays a 12 year old here) virtually carries the movie with Reynolds firmly locked into a supporting role. She is fantastic  and deserves to go a long way, this will definitely be seen as her breakout role. 

Ryan Reynolds was the leading man Krasinski had in mind from the off. Make no mistake given this movie, you obviously get Uncle Fluffy Ryan not snarky quippy "Deadpool" Ryan. His innate likeability and bucket load of charisma shines through as Cal, but I felt even his performance was just a tad remote and flat.

The movie also re-unites Krasinski (who plays Bea's Dad) with his co-star of The Office, Steve Carrell. The first project they have worked with each other on since the iconic TV show, over a decade ago. Whilst they never share the same screen, it's nice for them to work together again. As for Carrell he is funny as Blue.

Fiona Shaw provides solid support as Bea's doting grandmother, even though I found her American accent slipping in and out from her native British voice. 

As for the other IF's, the voice cast is a literal Who's Who of Hollywood, Phoebe Waller Bridge Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Sam Rockwell, Maya Randolph, the list continues. 

Sound and Spectacle

The CGI for the various IF's is very well done, but the VFX (e.g composite shots) where Bea or Cal are talking to them are not great to be honest, it felt very green screen. The movie is beautifully shot though so it was no surprise to learn the DP for IF is the great Janusz Kaminski, the de facto DP to Steven Spielberg no less.

On screen Action

After the on-screen action and intensity of the silent but deadly world of A Quiet Place, the action in this movie is decidedly more family friendly. The problem is though there is not a huge amount of action. There is a frankly bizarrely placed musical number (Not musical in that sense!) but other than the odd chase scene it's not that heavy on action.

Music and Score

Michael Giacchino provides the score which is of his usual high calibre. The movie also features a few needle drops.

Fleming shines but IF is an unfortunate misfire that whilst a sweet natured well meaning venture by Krasinski, struggles in it's execution. Plagued by pacing issues, gags that don't quite land and a relatively flat Reynolds. On paper this could have been something special...IF only. 

Verdict  - It's Fine

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Movie Review

  

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

No 5 on my Most Anticipated

Synopsis: Many years after the reign of Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey that will lead him to question everything he's been taught about the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

Director: Wes Ball

Stars: Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, Peter Macon & William H. Macy

Runtime: 2 hours 25m

Genre: Sci-Fi Action

The Planet of Apes trilogy, Rise, Dawn and War of the Planet of Apes, was one of the most critically acclaimed and successful trilogies of recent years. Taking over from Matt Reeves (who directed Dawn and War) this latest entry, is directed by Wes Ball, most famous for The Maze Runner trilogy. Ball pitched this movie as Apocalypto with Apes.  

This is my second ape-centric feature of the year, so let's see how this movie fares and see if based on this movie Wes Ball will have a shot at a new trilogy of movies. 

Let's break it down..

Story and Plot

This movie picks up 300 years after the original trilogy. Caesar from the original movies has long since past away, but his teachings have been twisted by Proximus Caesar (Durand) enslaving his own kind whilst searching for long-lost human technology to cement his hold on the world. Meanwhile, a young chimp Noa (Teague) inhabiting a peaceful fishing and falconry village is thrown into the harsh outside world, in doing so he befriends Mae (Allan) a young human and together they embark on a journey of mutual discovery.

My overall thoughts...

Kingdom is a superb intelligent sci-fi action summer blockbuster. Seen as a reset rather than a soft-reboot, this new movie feels very much in the same series. Coming in at 2½ hours Kingdom may well be a long film, but I never felt it's length.

The first act is dedicated to character introductions and backgrounds, as a result it is somewhat of a slow burn, but once the rubber hits the road there is no looking back.  Kingdom is undeniably a very impressive movie, it's not a stretch to say this is the best CGI & VFX in a movie since Avatar: The Way of Water. The world is gritty, lived in and above all a believable continuation of the original trilogy. 

If you are coming for the action, CGI & VFX you will almost certainly stay for the characters. Thanks to the movie taking it's time in it's first act, you are fully engaged and invested in the stories of Noa, Mae, Raka and it's villain Proximus Caesar. The performances are universally strong across the board.

As with many great movies, Kingdom holds up a mirror to our own society as it explores such issues as the proliferation of weapons and ultimately you may well root for the apes rather than the humans.

Whilst you will of course benefit from seeing the original trilogy, as this movie is a reset you can go in cold and you will not be lost. This movie confidently stands on it's own two feet. The movie also concentrates on being it's own thing as opposed to being just a springboard for future instalments. 

Cast

Noa is the hero of the movie whose arc is akin to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, depending on how this movie performs at the box office, Noa's character will essentially become the new Caesar from the original trilogy. His character even shares the same birthmark on his chest as Caesar, I'm calling it now - Noa is a descendent of Caesar. Good luck trying to verify without Ancestry.com! Anyway, Owen Teague, most famous for the IT movies is a revelation as Noa. Thanks to his excellent performance (aided by jaw dropping CGI) you are completely taken with his story. 

Mae (or Nova which is the name apes adopt for all humans) is played by young British actress Freya Allen. Allen is excellent in the role, her character representing the audience in the movie. Mae is unique in as much as she is smarter than most humans, the large majority of which have regressed to feral creatures with the rise of the simian population.

My only nit-pick with Mae is that as she represents the audience, her appearance is too modern and glamorous for her situation and environment. She essentially looks like a 2024 young lady dropped into a feral, simian dominated post-apocalyptic world. Glossy lips and perfect eye brows would be hard to come by in such an environment!

Kevin Durand is superb as Proximus Caesar, the evolved Benob ape leading a coastal clan of apes. Proximus is unnerving, cunning and clearly highly evolved. He made for a great villain but I felt was unfortunately underused.

Peter Macon who I know from The Orville as Lt. Commander Bertus plays Raka, highly developed orangutan. He damn nearly steals the movie as Noa's road trip companion who teaches Noa the ways of the original Caesar.

Apes veteran Andy Serkis (Who played Caesar in the original trilogy) was on hand to offer help to the actors on the mo-cap work. The actors also attended a six-week training course on how to move and act like simians. 

Sound and Spectacle

Following on from their ground breaking mo-cap work in Rise, Dawn and War, Weta FX (who became industry titans after their work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy) have become the crème de la crème effects house for creature features. This year's Godzilla x Kong is another example of a recent feature of theirs. 

The VFX in this movie is flawless. Very much like audiences were introduced to photo realistic dinosaurs back in 1993 with Jurassic Park, the apes in Kingdom are even more realistic than in the previous trilogy. Their facial expressions and mannerisms are staggering, they are so emotive it's unreal. It just goes to show when VFX studios are given the time to perfect their craft they can create something truly astonishing. 

The world they inhabit as well is as much a character than any on-screen ape or human. Keep an eye out for well known US landmarks that have been ravaged by time. The cinematography by DP Gyula Pados (DP to Ball's The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials) is superb, the movie looks absolutely gorgeous. 

The sound design is also superb and really helps to heighten the tension in the action set pieces, as well as faithfully reproducing simian roars and cries, which helped demonstrate the ferociousness of these animals. 

On screen Action

The set pieces in the movie are very well done, and as you really care about Noa, Raka and Mae, they mean so much more. They are genuinely exciting and have you on the edge of your seat as there is a real sense of danger, this certainly veers more into thriller territory than mindless action flick. The first act has one or two, but Ball really ramps up the action as the movie progresses. 

Music and Score

I really enjoyed the score by John Paesano which is both haunting and exciting in equal measure. 

There were no needle drops in this movie, which given the movie is no surprise. 

A worthy successor and continuation of the Apes franchise. Kingdom is more than a big budget summer movie. Yes, it looks stunning, has great action & eye watering VFX & CGI, but it's the characters & story that are the main attraction. Roll on the further adventures of Noa, Statue of Liberty on a beach anyone?

Verdict  - MATCHED EXPECTATIONS

Love Lies Bleeding Movie Review

  

Love Lies Bleeding

Synopsis: Gym manager Lou falls for Jackie, a bodybuilder en route to Vegas.

Director: Rose Glass

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Katy M. O'Brian, Ed Harris and Dave Franco

Runtime: 1 hour 44 mins

Genre: Mystery Crime Thriller

Love Lies Bleeding (Very clever title BTW) is the second feature from British director Rose Glass after her critically acclaimed, Oscar nominated horror debut Saint Maud. 

Developed by E4 and A24, this movie which currently stands at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, was premiered at Sundance back in January to a rapturous response. 

Let's break it down..

Story and Plot

Lou (Stewart) is a reclusive gym manager who falls hard for Jackie (O'Brian), an aspiring bodybuilder on her way to Las Vegas to pursue her dream. Their relationship however soon takes a dark turn leading to violence as Jackie right's a wrong in Lou's family and in doing so gets pulled into the web of Lou Sr. (Harris) and his criminal family.

My overall thoughts...

The word I would use for Love Lies Bleeding is "Intense". The tension, the sex scenes and the violence. It is rated 15 for strong violence and sex scenes, and they weren't kidding, Drive Away Dolls this is not. What it is though is a fantastic movie which at just over a 100 minutes is as short as it is raw.

I was hooked from the first frame and it had me in a vice like grip until the credits rolled. It was utterly absorbing, as you see innocent love get torn apart by Lou's family. The movie has a fantastic feeling of being in the 1980's, the period aesthetic is on on point. 

Despite this being only the second movie of Glass's career, her direction is supremely confident. The script is fantastic and it features superb acting, especially from O'Brian and Stewart.

Whilst the movie is intense there are also moments of very dark humour to break up the tension. It deftly deals with themes such as regret, death, lust and abandonment and even dabbles in some magical elements which work nicely.

Cast

For me the standout performance of this movie was Katy M. O'Brian, it will surely be seen as her breakout role. Seen previously in minor parts on both The Mandalorian (S3) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it is for this movie that she will make her name. She was born to play Jackie, her on screen imposing physicality is matched by her acting chops, which are considerable. She is superb, Jackie maybe be jacked but she's also a sensitive person whose heart is the right place. She will next be seen on screen in Twisters in July. 

Stewart is also excellent as Lou, the downtrodden chain smoking daughter of Lou Sr. With Love Lies Bleeding, Stewart continues to demonstrate her chamelon-esque approach to acting. It's a stretch to think the mullet styled Lou is also the same actress who portrayed Princess Diana in Spencer. She gives another very strong performance that is both vulnerable and ballsy at the same time.

As for the two actresses together, their chemistry is superb and very natural. Two lost souls finding each other at the right time.

Veteran actor Ed Harris is chilling as the demonic Lou Sr. Sporting a creepy long wig with his trademark bald head still in tact, I was never at ease when he was on screen. Always one step ahead of Lou and Jackie with a deadly twinkle in his eye.

Anna Baryshnikov as Daisy (Lou's ex) is creepy and downright cringy, great acting though. What really helped her look were her nicotine stained brown teeth. She was ghastly.

Jenna Malone who plays Lou's sister Luna is suffering at the hands of her abusive husband, a detestable Dave Franco. Both of which are excellent and it is their explosive toxic relationship that proves to be the movies inciting incident and spark that lights the flame to the rest of the movie. 

Sound and Spectacle

The sound design is superb in this movie, loud and violent when called for and deathly quiet in others. The crackly effect when Jackie's muscles expand (having taken steroids) is particularly well done. As for spectacle, there are set pieces in the movie but are more a by-product of the story rather than existing for action sake. 

As alluded to above there are also some magical elements to the movie by and large induced by steroid taking sessions, and there is a scene in the denouement that will divide audiences on whether they went too far or not.

On screen Action

There are two types of "action" in this movie. One is to be expected in a crime thriller (more on that later). The other is well..."action". Whilst the lesbian comedy Drive-Away Dolls earlier this year featured a fair amount of sex, it was always played for laughs and depicted with a light hearted tone. This is not the case with this movie, the sex scenes in Love Lies Bleeding between Lou & Jackie whilst relatively brief are intense, steamy and erotic. So much so that a man in Michigan got arrested by police after falling asleep having "exposed" himself whilst watching the movie.  

As for the more traditional action, it is bloody and intense in equal measure. Rose Glass does little to pull back in shocking her audience in the gore of the two main violent acts in the movie, so be warned. There is also a dream like sequence that is bordering on horror, but it is fairly short.

Music and Score

Clint Mansell provides the score which is chilling from the first frame. It works superbly with the very effective sound design. The movie also features some great 80's needle drops. 

Love Lies Bleeding is an electrifying revenge thriller. Brutal, featuring intense bloody violence and steamy sex scenes this movie does not hold back. O'Brien is a revelation, Stewart continues to shine & Harris is positively vile. Rose Glass exudes confidence at the helm. Love may lie bleeding, but it also conquers all.

Verdict  - MATCHED EXPECTATIONS